Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
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It was the moment when the Heavenly God Ye cried out in a scream-like voice.
Chwarararak!
Suddenly, a being of bizarre form descended from the sky. Not through some indirect method like spirit possession, but a true illusion manifested by divine power—an occurrence so rare that Mangnyang and I stared at it in astonishment.
The being had a human face, dog-like ears, and the body of some unknowable beast. Its appearance was unmistakably monstrous, yet instead of malice, a divine sanctity emanated from it, marking it clearly as a godly entity. Mangnyang let out a groan upon seeing it.
"For the Sabishi God, apostle of the Eastern Sovereign Emperor Jejun, to descend..."
The entity known as the Sabishi God soon opened its mouth and rumbled a telepathic message.
[These are the words of Jejun. The Red Bow and White Arrow belong to the Heavenly Emperor. They are blessings too great to bestow upon one fated for certain doom.]
But Ye wore an irritated expression unworthy of a heavenly god. Even a being like him possessed something akin to emotions. He then drew a red bow from his waist and addressed the Sabishi God.
[If that is your stance, what of the feats I achieved with this bow—slaying the Three-Legged Crow spirit, the Great Wind, Alu, the Chipped-Tooth, the Nine Ying, the Ba Serpent, and Feng Hui? Even the Yellow Emperor could not judge those deeds right or wrong!]
[......]
[Please render a just judgment.]
The Sabishi God fell silent for a long while. Then, its crow-like beastly body shifted slightly, and in that instant, dazzling lights flowed forth from around it. They were birds of vibrant, multicolored hues unlike any I had ever seen. Mangnyang gasped in admiration.
"Five-Colored Birds!"
Hwaaah!
The Five-Colored Birds slowly wheeled about before transforming into orbs of light and ascending into the sky. Once this was done, the Sabishi God itself suddenly became a globe of light and vanished without a trace. As we stood there baffled, not understanding what had transpired, the Heavenly God Ye spoke.
[Jejun has granted permission. You shall receive my blessing.]
It seemed the Sabishi God had conveyed Jejun's will solely to Ye. With Ye poised to bestow the blessing and depart at once, I hurriedly interjected.
"I... I'm sorry, but I have a question."
[What is it?]
"I can't accept a blessing without knowing what it is. I need an explanation."
The last time, I'd unwittingly received Xiang Yu's blessing, fretted over not knowing what it was, and ended up fumbling around uselessly. This time, I felt compelled to learn its nature first. It might seem rude to a heavenly god, but Ye apparently deemed my question reasonable and answered.
[The blessing I bestow is the Red Bow and White Arrow. Moreover, it includes the unerring strike I mentioned earlier.]
"What power does the Red Bow and White Arrow hold?"
[When you face peril, the Red Bow shall appear, nocked with the White Arrow. With it, you shall overcome the danger.]
Paaat!
With that, Ye vanished. Cheon Ujin staggered and dropped to his knees on the spot. Likely due to the aftereffects of consecutive possessions by god-tier beings, he looked utterly drained. I wondered what might happen if Cheon Ujin attempted possession beyond even Ye's turn, but that was a mystery for another lifetime.
Once the ritual ended, Cheon Ujin, forcibly staunching his nosebleed, said,
"The Heavenly God Ye is one of history's mightiest war gods. With his power now yours, your actions could upset the balance of heaven and earth—use it with utmost caution."
This guy giving me advice?
It was so unprecedented that my eyes widened. Cheon Ujin had always been half-fainting from possession fatigue or telling me to hurry up and leave. That he was doing this much underscored how extraordinary it was for Ye to grant me the Red Bow and White Arrow.
"What do you mean by caution?"
Cheon Ujin wiped cold sweat from his brow, pressing his forehead as if enduring severe pain.
"Use it recklessly, and calamity will follow."
"Understood. Thank you."
"Ugh... my head... Now go."
Mangnyang and I left Cheon Ujin behind and exited the village. I glanced back at it briefly, but as expected, Master Mangnyang showed no particular reaction this time either. Even if it warranted a warning from Cheon Ujin, it wasn't significant enough for him to intervene?
I headed with Mangnyang to the little tavern in the village we always frequented. Famished, he tucked into some chicken and said,
"If we're following your plan, the next order of business is heading to the Shadowless Sect to free Serim Hye and the others."
"Right. Same as always."
"Hmm... Not bad, but let's think differently this time."
"How so?"
Mangnyang bit into a chicken leg and chewed as he replied.
"Before that, we should meet my uncle, Jegalsa, first."
"Ah..."
"You might not have seen it as a big deal, but his death in just a few years is a massive issue. That man doesn't die at another's hand."
I stared at Mangnyang in surprise.
"Doesn't die to another?"
Mangnyang wasn't one to judge people lightly. His words and eye for talent had already been affirmed by the great general Hwang Yeon, Lee Gwang, and heroes across the land. I hadn't expected such resounding praise from him.
Mangnyang nodded.
"My father always said this: If Jegalsa serves a hegemon, no one in this world could stop him. He said we must join forces with him."
"......!!"
"Of course, Jegalsa has a profoundly cynical and negative personality—he's no one's servant. But his wisdom and stratagems are so formidable even I struggle against them. That evaluation is no exaggeration."
I had trouble believing Mangnyang's assessment. If we'd been strangers, I'd have thought he was just bragging, but with my fourteen lifetimes and decades of connection to him, I'd verified his abilities firsthand. In my eyes, no strategist surpassed Mangnyang.
A strategist even he couldn't handle!
Defiance welled up, and I snapped curtly,
"Whoever he is, he's just some guy who offs himself. Nothing special."
"Haha. I think you two might actually get along."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You'll see when you meet him."
Mangnyang's grinning face seemed completely free of burdens now. Deciding that was that, I dropped the griping and got to practical matters.
"Anyway, I hear he's the Lord of Burial Mound Valley and poses three riddles to visitors, rewarding gold to those who solve them. Do you know the answers?"
"I know them, but not what they mean."
"What?"
Mangnyang crossed his arms and said,
"That's the tricky part... I get the feeling he hasn't fixed answers in mind. It's more like he wants to know what answer the visitor gives. He's seeking something from those who come to him."
"Hmm...?"
"With me along, it won't be an issue."
"Fair enough."
I agreed with Mangnyang. He seemed to have solved all three of Burial Mound Valley's riddles before, and who cared about their significance? The key was checking if Jegalsa lived or died.
'The flow of time in Mokgap is nearly stopped. A day or two delay won't matter.'
It was far more advantageous to confirm Jegalsa's status sooner. I decided to put off Shadowless Sect matters slightly.
After finishing our meal, Mangnyang and I used the Return Amulet to relocate to a small village. This was the one where, back when I knew little of the Midnight Chronicles, I'd saved them from a flood and received info on Burial Mound Valley in return.
Nostalgia washing over me, I glanced at the village chief's house. Sure enough, there was the sturdy old chief who'd led the villagers during that near-flood. Seeing him brought a smile, and I greeted him warmly.
"Hello."
The chief scowled.
"Where does this rude punk come from? Daring to greet an elder as an equal!"
"......"
I felt absurd, but realized it was justified. Martial experts overlooked my profound inner energy as signs of rejuvenation, but to ordinary folk, I was unmistakably a boy in his early to mid-teens. I mumbled a half-hearted greeting and dragged Mangnyang out of the village.
Once outside, Mangnyang tilted his head.
"You know better than to greet equals with your youthful body—why the slip-up?"
"Well..."
I hesitated, then explained the reason to Mangnyang—unconscious habit from past memories. After hearing it, he said,
"Avoid such mistakes in the future, for your own sake. Reincarnation hasn't caused major issues so far, but as memories and ties accumulate, repeated mingling could lead to mental instability long-term."
"......!!"
I clamped my mouth shut. It might pass as a simple error, but it could be a seed for inner turmoil. And mental strain from mounting memories was entirely plausible. After pondering, I asked Mangnyang,
"But memories keep piling up... What if my recall can't keep pace someday?"
"That's worth considering. Hmm..."
Mangnyang thought briefly before replying.
"There might be a solution, but I'm not certain."
"What is it?"
"Let's head to Burial Mound Valley first. I can explain after seeing my uncle."
I realized Mangnyang was urging haste to distract me from dwelling on it—a tactful guess at the melancholy of a reincarnator. Spot-on, I gave a wry smile.
Right—memories were indeed accumulating. My recall handled them so far, but I had a hunch that ten more cycles would bring significant loss or forgetting. Fine for raw experience, but fatal for fields needing precise knowledge.
So how to effectively manage memory buildup?
I mulled it over nonstop as Mangnyang and I trekked the mountain path to Burial Mound Valley. Of course, his brilliant mind likely had answers, but I couldn't stop thinking. As he'd hammered home endlessly: [Think with your own head.] Knowledge not pondered and realized personally held no value.
At last, we reached Burial Mound Valley. It lay hemmed in by basin terrain, with sheer thirty-zhang walls looming. The passage into the valley between them had no guards.
Mangnyang strode ahead and said,
"Keep going about five li straight, and you'll hit the barrier."
"A barrier? Jegalsa wields sorcery too?"
"Of course. And he's exceptionally skilled."
Wiping his face with the Five Flowers Seven Metals Fan—whether from heat or not—Mangnyang continued,
"Last time, it was the Long Snake Drinking Water Formation. With his twisted personality, he won't reuse the same one, so we'll need to break a new barrier this time."
"Confident?"
"Not really. If I fail, use Return Amulet to bail us out midway."
"......"
Mangnyang's formation knowledge had cracked even the Gate of Mysterious Hiding set by the illusion god Cheon Ujin in short order. For even him to lack confidence against Jegalsa's formations... Meeting this guy would be more hassle than expected.
'Damn. Guess I need to learn proper sorcery.'
As I grumbled inwardly, Mangnyang halted ahead. A flat expanse suddenly appeared, bristling with flags. He eyed their arrangement intently before saying,
"One more step forward from here, and the formation activates."
"What kind is it?"
"The Heaven-Mixing One Qi Formation. What a personality..."
Mangnyang clucked his tongue, and I cocked my head.
"Personality? That sinister?"
"Not sinister—nasty. You won't die even if caught properly, but it'll torment you till you're bawling and fleeing. Made to humiliate."
"......"
Likely, last time Mangnyang breached his formation and solved the riddles, Jegalsa's pride smarted. Almost certainly, so I kept quiet. With such a warped temperament, he'd blow up easily anyway.
Sususususu.
Mangnyang advanced calmly, scrutinizing the flags' flows. He moved with precise directional alignment—up, down, left, right—in set patterns. After about twenty-odd paces, he called back,
"Follow my exact steps. I've cracked it."
"...I, uh, didn't memorize them all..."
I scratched my head. I'd strained to watch, but at some point got confused. Mangnyang replied,
"Then we'll detour, seize the formation's core, and dismantle it. Wait here."
With that, he wove through the flag-clustered ground in baffling patterns—up, down, left, right—circling repeatedly. After some three hundred steps, he stopped at a spot and yanked up a red flag from the earth.
"Formation's gone. Just walk through now."
"That's all it took?"
"This Heaven-Mixing One Qi is the archetype of archetypes. Even peak experts leaping through with lightness skill get trapped inevitably, but follow the right sequence, and even a woman or child could dismantle it."
"Hoo..."
"Even so, he's twisted it so viciously that mediocre formation knowledge won't cut it."
From Mangnyang's fierce mutter, he'd clearly struggled to crack it despite appearances.
'Mangnyang doesn't care much for his uncle.'
It felt almost like bad friends. I stepped into the dismantled formation; knee-high flags clustering to trap or bewilder at will seemed unbelievable.
Soon, Mangnyang and I arrived before a peculiar house roofed alternately in blue and green tiles. Its courtyard held a bamboo grove that whistled eerily in the breeze.
Takak.
Takak.
Before the house sat an odd contraption, unattended. Four-wheeled, built for someone to sit and ride. Staring at it, Mangnyang shouted,
"Jegalsa! Guests are here—what's with leaving the four-wheeled cart out? Come out!"
No reply. Instead, the unmanned cart squeaked and rolled toward the tiled house. Clearly sorcery-guided—undoubtedly Jegalsa leading us. With no choice, we followed it, and soon the house door swung open.
Dulkeong.
Sorcery permeated here too. Entering the tiled house, we found... a bear.
"......?!"
A giant panda!
The black-and-white-furred lazy dweller of bamboo groves sprawled on the stark floor. Stunned, I stared; moments later, it spoke human words.
[Shhi... purr...]
"......"
[Kaaak... ptooey...]
This was...
[Ears... hurt... so... get... lost... you... filthy... mongrels...]
Crude street-thug slang! The real body was elsewhere, puppeteering the bear to speak. Despite the unexpected insult, bafflement trumped anger.
Mangnyang clutched his head and said,
"No riddles?"
The panda opened its maw.
[Hey~~~ you bastard~~~ worthless... scum... back in... my day... I had... a fine... body~~~ now this one's... tiny... and achy~~~]
Its slow drawl subtly grated. It then grabbed a nearby bamboo shoot, gnawed it, and continued.
[Enough... already... with this weary... life... just stamp... my death... writ... and let me rest~~~ heh heh... so scram... shhi... purr... advice... from an elder... who's outlived... trash like you~~~]
"......"
Madness brimmed from the first encounter.
That was my initial impression of Jegalsa.